Mighty Wings
by Loveless87
Summary: After a baseball accident that resulted in a broken wrist, Christine Smalls feels that there is nothing that can persuade her to play the game ever again. This is, until she meets Benjamin Rodriguez and the Sandlot boys, then suddenly finds herself thrown back into the world of baseball and the Beast. Benny/OC BennyXOC
1. Broken Wings

**Broken Wings**

Scotty small tried to look anywhere but his mother as she spoke to him about trying to get some new friends. He wanted to tell her about the Sandlot, and the boys that he knew played there, but he was embarrassed. He had made a fool of himself when he went there to talk to them, unable to do something as simple as catching or throwing a baseball. To them, he was a lost cause. He didn't have the guts to tell her that he had tried and failed, quite miserably, to make friends.

"Run around, scrape your knees, get dirty!" his mother went on, trying to gain his attention back from his thoughts. "Climb trees, hop fences, get into trouble, for crying out loud!" She seemed to pause as she thought over what she had just said and quickly added on, "Not too much, but some. Nothing like your sister."

"Hey, I heard that!" his elder sister yelled from the hallway. The door opened once more and Christine's head peered around the wood, looking to where the two sat. She smiled to them before stepping into the room completely, but remaining by the door. "I didn't get into _that_ much trouble."

Christine Smalls was polar opposite to her brother and her last name. She had long legs and a long torso with their mother's reddish brown hair. She was only fourteen years old and people often mistook her for a sixteen or seventeen year old. She also wasn't as lanky as her brother was, she had been playing sports and joining teams since she could move on her own two feet. Their mom often said that she had been running before she even thought about walking. The loose short sleeved shirt and cotton short shorts revealed the tan that she had already accumulated and the muscle tone on her legs.

"Well, I'm giving Scotty permission, you were actually going _against_ what I said," Mrs. Smalls said as she looked over to her daughter. Christine just laughed and shook her head.

Their mother wasn't kidding about Christine getting in trouble, either. Scotty had been sure that his sister was the only person in their previous school who had ever gotten in trouble with the local police and said 'catch me if you can' before taking off running. She never did huge offences to the law, but it was enough to set their mother into a tizzy every time. She was the fastest kid in the school, probably in the entire town, and the police never did catch her. Eventually she would always run home and the cops would be there waiting. She actually became close 'friends' with a few of them.

"Anyway," His mother quickly said, looking back over to Scott, "I want you to make some friends this summer. Lots of them."

Scott noticed the slight downward tilt to his sister's smile and knew that she felt sorry for him. She had always taken easily to new people, she could just smile and greet them without a single care of something going wrong. He had always asked her to teach him, and she would always tell him that it was something that you taught yourself.

"But…I'm not good at anything," Scotty said in excuse, "They'll always think I'm just an egghead."

"Oh, don't worry, you'll _always _be just an egghead," Christine threw in, getting a look from their mother when she did so. She lifted her hands up in surrender and turned to leave, shooting her baby brother a smile before she departed.

"You will, at least with an attitude like that."

Christine stepped down to her room, the floorboards cold on her feet. She looked around their new home, all of their things already unpacked from their boxes, pictures put up on walls and tables. She walked down the hallway to her bedroom, pushing open the door and stepping inside. While Scott's room was filled with all of his homemade knick knacks her bedroom had paintings, drawings, art supplies, reward ribbons and trophies all thrown around in the strangest order that it looked messy. She loved to draw and paint, but she also loved the outside and spent as much time doing sports and other activities as she could.

Jumping onto her double bed, she began to fiddle with the straps of the brace on her arm. She really hated that thing. She had gone and broken her wrist in a game a couple of months back before they moved. She had the cast taken off only days before they left, but the doctor said that it would be best that she continue to wear the brace, especially when doing any sort of physical activity that could jostle the injury.

The only plus about breaking your wrist is getting out of dish duty. At first, her mother had had her on drying duty when she helped with the dishes, but the cast still got wet and she often fumbled with the dishes, resulting with them falling, breaking and glass going _everywhere._ It was actually Bill who had saved her when he deemed it too dangerous for her to continue to attempt helping. She didn't know whether he was trying to protect their feet from the glass or his remaining dishes. Either way, she was grateful for it.

A soft knock on the door made her sit up in her bed, fixing the straps a moment before the door opened. Her mother stepped in smiling, and Christine knew that she was about to be lectured as well.

"I'll help him out, I know, I know," Christine said in defense, holding up her hands just as she had when leaving Scott's room. Her mother smiled and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I know you will, you're a wonderful older sister. I was actually going to ask you if you were going to join any teams. Your next doctor's appointment is coming up and I'm sure that he'll clear you to play," She said, placing a hand on her daughter's leg reassuringly. She watched as Christine's face fell slightly and she began to fiddle with the straps again.

"I don't know, mom, I just don't think I should," she mumbled out, looking over to one of the many ribbons that were pinned along a scarf that hung from one of her bookcases. "You know how people treat girls who play sports. I was lucky to have such a supportive team back home."

"Honey, you love to play, you should get back in the game. At least try. When school starts up in the fall your arm will be all healed and you won't need to worry about wearing the brace anymore," Mrs. Smalls encouraged gently, offering her most motherly smile. Christine just looked away in doubt, knowing that if she looked at her mother she might end up promising something that she shouldn't.

Christine's mother sighed at her daughter's reaction but knew better than to push.

"Alright, I can take a hint. I'll see you in the morning." She got up from the bed, leaning over one last time to give her sudden unhappy daughter a kiss on her forehead before she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her quietly.

Christine leaned back into her pillows again before pulling off the brace on her wrist and tossing it over in the direction of her desk, sighing loudly. She really did miss playing sports, she had been without it for nearly six months and she felt like she was beginning to lose her mind. She had starting taking up track for a short while since there wasn't any work done on her wrist aside from the movement of swinging her arms.

"Damn," She muttered to herself as she rolled over, snapping off the lamp beside her bed before she curled herself under the covers. She knew that her mother was going to try again tomorrow, so she's need her rest.

҉

Christine stood at the kitchen window, looking out into the backyard, eating her cereal of the morning. Her mother stood behind her, looking over her shoulder, as the boys played catch. Scott had missed the first one and proceeded to walk over and _place _the baseball in Bill's mitt. Christine had gotten a warning look from her mother when she snorted in laughter, effectively silencing the teenager from making another sound.

Scott still missed catching the second ball, casing Christine to wince. She wondered how long Bill would actually try and teach him before he gave up. She could already see that he really wished to have better things to do than just stand around and _attempt_ to teach the youngest Small child to play catch.

The milk from her cereal nearly came out her nose when she saw Smalls try and toss the ball back to Bill, getting a soft smack on the back of her head as her mother quickly stepped up behind her. She began to cough as she tried to swallow her cereal and laugh at the same time.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake," Mrs. Smalls said as she patted her daughter on the back, taking the nearly empty bowl from her hands. Christine shook her head and wiped at her mouth, spitting the rest of the milk into the sink so she didn't choke on it. She could hear her mother cleaning up the last of the dishes as she took a piece of paper towel to try and wipe off her face.

She knew that she shouldn't laugh at Scott, she felt bad for doing so, but she couldn't help herself. She would go out and see if she could help him after Bill finished up. Maybe they could have some very delayed father/son bonding while they were out there. Her head shot up to look out the window when Scott cried out suddenly, her mother rushing over as well. Scott was lying on the ground with his hands to his face. Bill quickly rushed over to him, helping him up off the ground.

They stepped into the kitchen soon after with Scott complaining about his eye. Christine stood back as their mother rushed over to see what had happened, Bill moving to the fridge and grabbed a wrapped piece of meat. She winced at the slapping sound when the meat hit Scott's skin, over his eye.

"Nice and hard, press it against it," Bill instructed, looking over to Christine briefly. She knew about the cold press of meat all too well. Not usually for the face, though.

"I just took my eye off the ball, mom," Scott tried to assure, holding the meat up to his eye as he had been instructed.

"He still caught it, though," Bill added on, straightening up and looked down at where Scott was still grunting in pain. "Alright, just keep that on for about an hour. It'll still turn black but it shouldn't swell that way."

And black it was. It didn't take long after the meat was removed to notice the darkened skin. It wasn't as bad as some could get, and it wasn't all swollen, but it was easy to see that he had gotten one in the face just by looking at him. Christine tried to cheer up him, telling him about when she had first gotten hit with a baseball. She had been on the sidelines and the batter was really bad and ended up hitting her in the shin hard enough to bruise and swell.

"Hurts like crazy when they hit the bone, too," She said. "Although, the eye's just as bad." She sat down beside him on the front step of their house where he was fiddling with his mitt. The strings on the fake glove had come loose, never to be used again. She turned his face toward her, inspecting the eye. "Be glad, you got off lucky."

"I don't feel very lucky."

"I know, that's what I said when the doctor told me the same thing. _'Be lucky it was only your wrist'_ he says. Well, a broken bone is a broken bone, no matter how many places in the arm it is," She said, mocking the doctor's voice as she spoke. Scott laughed slightly, but was still miserable none the less. "You can have my glove if you want, it's not like I use it anymore. It should fit you perfectly!"

"No, that's alright. I don't think I'm going to ever play baseball."

Christine regarded her brother with a sad look in her eyes, wishing that she could do something to cheer him up. She remembered the first time that she had tried out for the boys' soccer team, since there hadn't been a girls' one, and they had laughed in her face and sent her away. But she didn't give up and continued to bother them until the coach gave her a shot. Not one of those boys could stop, steal or block any of her tricks.

"Don't just give up like that, Scott."

Scott was silent for a moment, looked over to his sister when she got to her feet. Her red converse shoes were dirtied from years of use, but she still loved them. "But you did," he finally said, causing her to pause and step back down to look at him. He noticed how sad she looked and how she fiddled with her brace.

"I broke my wrist, Scott. You got hit in the eye when you caught your first ball. Tell me which is worse."

Scott looked over his shoulder as she stepped into the house, clearly dejected from his words. He felt bad for what he had said, the sickening feeling in his stomach nagging at him. She was trying to help him, make him feel better even, and he accused her of giving up. He knew why she didn't play baseball anymore, and he'd thrown her fear in her face.

Looking down at the glove in his hands, he also regretted turning down her offer to use her mitt. It wasn't like he was going to be able to get a new one any time soon. He barely got an allowance and he didn't want to bother his mother or Bill with asking for a new one.

"Hey."

Scott looked up from his glove to the voice, unfamiliar to him. He immediately felt embarrassed and shy once more when he saw one of the guys from the Sandlot gang walking up the drive toward him. He was carrying a glove and baseball bat with him, apparently on his way to play ball with the others.

"I'm gunna go play some ball and we need an extra guy, you wanna go?" He asked lightly, stopping a couple of feet away from him. Scott just kept his eyes down at the destroyed mitt in his hands.

"Uhm…no, thanks."

"Why not? Don't you like baseball?"

"Oh, yea! But, uhm-"

"But what?" The kid interrupted, clearly not liking the excuses that Scott was trying to come up with. The younger was beginning to wish that he had chosen a different place to mope around. He looked back down to his destroyed mitt and stood up, beginning to ramble on about how he couldn't play without a mitt.

He turned around when the door suddenly opened and his sister appeared again, holding her baseball mitt in her hand. She was smiling again-clearly not mad about what he had said to her earlier. The faded and used mitt in her hands fit perfectly with her torn up jean shorts, white tank top and red converse high-tops. She looked the part of a regular sports girl.

"Take mine, Scott." She held the glove out to him, giving him a look that just dared him to try and oppose her will. "I'll tell mom and Bill you went out, now go," she ordered as she pressed her glove into his hand and took the destroyed one from him. Scott looked over to Benny, hoping that he didn't seem offended at the excuses that he had made up. But Benny seemed preoccupied with looking at his sister.

"You can come too, if you want," he offered. Christine seemed surprise at the generosity, before she lifted up her braced wrist and hand.

"Sorry, doctor's appointment," she said apologetically. "But Scott's all free to go!" She nudged at her brother until he stepped off to follow Benny. The taller kid smiled up to her and nodded before he motioned for Scott to follow after him and began to jog back down their driveway.

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**This is my first Sandlot story, but I'm sure that it'll turn out great. I'm surprised at the lack of stories that can be found about the movie, but I didn't let that discourage me. Hope everyone enjoys!**


	2. New Heights

**New Heights**

Christine tucked the list of things that her mom wanted her to get in town, as well as the money she had given her, inside her worn out black book bag. She snatched her skateboard from behind her door, the recent paintjob that she had done making her smile. She had decided to make a tribute to the original board, the surf board. She painted in rolling waves on the bottom and blue and red hibiscus flowers on the top.

"I'll be back soon, mom, alright?" she called toward the kitchen as she stood at the front door.

"Alright, please be careful!"

Christine stepped out of the house and threw down her board, the thick rubber wheels making dull thuds on the ground when she did so. She placed her front foot down carefully on the board and pushed off with the other, steering along the curve in the walk and around Bill's car. She pushed herself a couple more paces once she was out in the street before she put both feet on the board and began to leisurely move from side to side, around parked cars and other kids out on the street. Some waved to her as she passes, smiling when she waved back.

She missed boarding as well, her mother had forbade her from doing it with the cast on so it was something that she had only just recently gotten into again. She was glad that she wasn't as rusty as she had feared she would be. Tipping her feet back carefully and using her body weight, she eased around a left turn into the town before straightening out again.

More people watched her as she glided past them, some of them continuing to wave to her. She almost missed the doctor's office when a group of guys called out to her and she was forced into a quick stop, her back foot coming down on the back curve of the board to snap it up into her hand. She quickly moved into the doctor's office, seeing that there were a couple of other people waiting there.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the front desk asked, eyeing the skateboard wearily.

"I have an appointment at 4 with Mr. McIntosh," She said, holding out the slip of paper that her mother had given her. The woman took it and compared it with the schedule that she had in front of her, leaving Christine to look around herself in boredom.

"Alright, just take a seat and we'll call you up with he's ready for you," She said, handing the slip back to her. Christine nodded her thanks before moving over to take one of the unoccupied chairs in the waiting area. Most of the people there were elderly folk that were probably just there for check-ups, and most of which were eyeing her with unease. She was only waiting there for a couple of minutes before she heard her name called.

"Hello, Miss. Smalls, my name is Dr. McIntosh," The middle-aged man introduced as soon as she was in the small exam room that he had. He shook her good hand gently before continuing, "Let me just grab your file here while you take a seat on the exam table." Leaning her board up against the wall, she looked around the room uncomfortably. He had posters and models of hearts, lungs, reproductive systems, eye charts. Pretty much everything.

She sat down on the table, the familiar sound of the shifting leather and wrinkling paper making her wince. She couldn't wait for the day that she didn't need to listen to that sound anymore.

"Alright, a broken wrist," Dr. McIntosh said as he closed the door behind him and moved to sit on the stool beside the bed. She was taller than him when he saw down, making her feel even more abnormally tall than she already was. "Let's take a look, shall we?"

She held her mending wrist out to him, letting him remove the brace on his own. He placed the black material aside and began to message her wrist, pressing down on the bone gently before the pressure intensified. She flinched once and moved to draw her hand back when he pressed on a particularly tender spit.

"Sorry," he softly apologized, moving on to a different place. He rolled her wrist had had her flex her hand, pushing her hand forward to bend her wrist before repeating the movement backward. She told him when the pains were bad and when they were worse, allowing him to gauge her healing processes a bit better.

"Do I need to keep wearing the brace?" She finally asked, looking into his eyes.

"For a short while longer, I would definitely recommend you do. You are healing very well, there haven't been any complications, however, just to be on the safe side I would keep wearing it. In a couple more weeks, we'll arrange for another appointment and we can go from there. Alright?" She nodded her head reluctantly, getting a pat on the knee in sympathy.

"What about sports?" She asked a moment later, seeing him turn to face her from the corner of her eye.

"Well, you'll still have to wear the brace for a while longer if you want to get back into sports, especially baseball or soccer, when you'll need your hands." She nodded her head in understand and slipped down off the cot.

"Just give this to your mother to confirm that you came, alright?" he said, holding a note out to her. She nodded her head and slipped the piece of paper into her bag before she began to strap the brace back onto her wrist. He held her bag out to her while she picked up her skateboard, nodding her thanks before she quickly left the office.

The market wasn't too far so she just carried her skateboard with her good hand, pulling the list of things from her bag as she jogged across the street to the small market they had in town. She smiled to some of the workers as she made her way down the aisles, picking out snacks and ingredients that her mother had written down.

It only took her a half an hour to collect all of her things and pay for them, soon back on her skateboard with a bag full of food heading home. She ducked low to avoid setting sprayed by someone watering their lawn, skimming her good hand down along the pavement as she did so. The person called after her in annoyance, but she didn't look back.

She soon turned down her street, pushing with her left leg to gain more speed. She squinted her eyes against the sunlight so see that Scott was walking back with the boy from earlier that day and someone else. He seemed to be completely at ease with the two now, and she knew right then that he had successfully been able to catch and throw a ball. She highly doubted that it had been from Bill's teaching, however. She would bet all the money she had that it had been something to do with the boy that had come to get him that morning. He just seemed to type of guy that lived and breathed baseball to the point that he knew all the tricks to learning the trade.

She smiled to herself and kicked the ground again to gain speed, seeing the boy she didn't know move to the side to walk in a different direction. That was her opening. She easily flew past Scott on her board, her hand shooting out and stealing his hat clean from his head.

"Hey! Chris!" Scott yelled out in protest after her, beginning to run. She tried to put the hat on, but he had a much smaller head than she did.

"For someone with such a big brain you sure have a small head!" she called over her shoulder to him, seeing that he and the other boy were running after her. "Come on, shorty, faster!" She had just curved into the driveway when she felt Scott take hold of the strap of her bag and pulled her back, effectively stopping her forward momentum.

"Christine, be nice to your brother!" Bill yelled through the open window, making Christine laugh as she picked up her board, slamming her foot down on the back to bring it up so she didn't need to bend over. She put the hat back on her brother's head messily, making him grumble as he tried to fix it with one hand, the other still wearing her mitt.

"Smalls!" Scott looked over to where the boy was running over to their driveway, Christine turning as well out of curiosity. "Hey, bring a t-shirt and jeans tomorrow, alright, man?" He asked, keeping his voice low as he spoke with Scott.

"Oh, okay."

Christine smiled to herself, glad that Scott had _finally_ made friends. All it took was for the right ones to come along and actually do something to help him out a bit. She outright laughed when the boy told Scott to throw his hat in the fireplace. The Sea Bass on the front probably wasn't doing much for his look, nor was the tucked in plaid shirt.

"Yea, well, it was the only one I had," Scott rambled, embarrassed under his sister's laugh and Benny's words.

"Not anymore," Benny said, pulled a blue hat out of his back pocket with a C on the front. "Wear my old hat." He turned to leave again, Scott frozen in place as he looked at the new hat that he had been given, pulling the old one off his head. Benny stopped before he got two feet, though, and turned to look at Christine. "Hey, Chris, right?"

She raised an eyebrow at him for a moment at the use of her nickname and not her full name. "Yea?"

"Got any doctor's appointments tomorrow?" Benny asked with a smirk, slamming one of his hands into the glove on his other to occupy himself. Chris laughed to herself quietly, feeling her cheeks warm in a blush at the open invite.

"Nope, not tomorrow."

"Then come over to the lot with us, you can see how well Smalls can play now," he offered for the second time. She looked over to Scott, seeing that he didn't seem to be offended by the idea of having his elder sister tag along when he went to play ball with the guys.

"Alright," she agreed, unable to stop smiling. "I'll come." Benny smiled in returned, nodding his head before he turned and jogged away, heading to his own house just a couple of doors down on the other side of the road.

The two Smalls kids shared a look before Scott took off running for the door, calling out to their mom to tell her the good news. Christine smiled and shook her head, unable to believe that he was actually twelve years old. She looked over to Benny's house, seeing that he was walking up the drive more slowly. She continued to shake her head before she turned to head inside, unable to pull off her smile. Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting day, of that she was sure.

"Christine, how'd you appointment go?" her mother asked once Scotty had finished going on about his day before he ran to go and shower before dinner. Christine had already put all of the things she had bought away and given her mother the note from the doctor.

"He said that I should keep the brace on for a while longer, just to be safe," she answered quietly. "He also said that I would need to wear it if I wanted to play sports in a couple of weeks."

"So you can start playing again soon, then?" There was so much hope in her mother's voice that Christine felt there was no way for her to turn her down. She simply pulled herself out of her seat and moved to the stairs, going up to her room. She picked up her board as she passed, not really wanting to talk with her mother about something that would never happen.

She passed Scott's room, glancing inside. He had her glove and Benny's hat sitting on his bed, placed their carefully before he went off the shower. She smiled to herself as she continued on to her room. Benny was definitely something else, and she looked forward to getting to know the new type of guy that she had been introduced to that day. She turned to head to her own room, leaving her mitt and the blue hat sitting on her brother's bed.

She tossed her empty bag down on her bed and moved over to her window, pulling her hair up into a ponytail as she did so. She looked out at the street from her window, seeing most kids running home to get there in time for dinner. Leaning out her open window to let the cooling air brush her skin, she looked over to where Benny lived, wondering what he was doing at the moment.

The placement of her window allowed her to slide out into the roof above the living room, giving her the chance to sit out in the open air with a direct link to her room. She slipped out onto the shingled roof, careful not to let her converse slip on the slanted surface. Looking back out over the houses around her own she found herself missing the space that they had back at their previous home, but also knew that it would be fun to experience everything anew again.

Pulling on the straps on her brace, she pulled it off her wrist and tossed it over her shoulder into her bedroom window, landing on the floor by her desk. She shifted around until she was lying on her back on the roof, looking up at her arm. There were marks left from the brace holding onto her arm so tightly, mingling around with the fresh scars from when her arm broke. The circular puncture wounds made her gut twist and she quickly lowered her arm from her view before she lost her lunch.

"Christine! Clean up for dinner!" her mother called through the door, knocking for further emphasis.

"I'll be down in a minute!" she called back, looking toward the window as she did so. Her mother must have walked away when she didn't hear her reply again, allowing her to have one more minute to herself. She sat up carefully, taking the weight easy on her injured right hand, and moved to stand and climb back through her window. She looked over across the street one more time, surprised to see Benny Rodriguez standing at the front entrance to his home. He was looking over in the direction of her house, causing her to pause. Should she acknowledge him?

Giving a short wave to him, she watched as he immediately lifted his hand to wave back. He was too far away for her to tell if he was smiling or not, but she assumed that he would have been. She carefully threw one leg over her window ledge and slipped back into her room, looking over the window one last time. He was still standing in the doorway to his house, looking over to their house.

"I might like this town after all."

Slipping down the hall to wash her hands before dinner quickly, she moved down the stairs to where she could already hear her mother, father and brother all sitting around the table already. Her mother smiled to her as soon as she stepped down from the stairs. Her mother pause when she saw that she wasn't wearing her brace.

"Christine, you need to wear your brace," she said with authority. Christine opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off with another order and look from her mother. She sighed loudly and turned to head back up the stairs to retrieve her brace from her bedroom floor.

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**Yay to reviews! :)**

**Thank all of you beautiful people for giving me some feedback on this story, it's very much appreciated. To show you my gratitude, I gave you this chapter!**


	3. Pride and Sorrow

**Pride and Sorrow**

Scott ran over to his sister's door, banging on it loudly before he threw open the door. Christine was draped over her bed with her blankets mussed about. Her hair was a complete mess and hid her face, her arms thrown out on either side of her. Scott paused a moment to look at the pale scars that were revealed against her tanned skin.

"Christine, wake up!" Scott finally yelled, jumping onto her bed and shoving at her back. She cried out in shock and rolled to try and get away from whoever was attacking her. She looked over to Scott with a dark glare for a moment, her rats nest hair only causing him to snort in laughter.

"What?" She asked venomously.

"It's almost eight o'clock, we need to meet Benny at either thirty!" Christine groaned loudly before rolling again, this time off the bed and onto her feet. She looked back over to him for a moment before diving at him, letting out a mock battle cry. Scott panicked and leapt back, falling off her bed before quickly scrambling out the door and slamming it behind him. She laughed softly from where she was still lying on her stomach before she moved over to her dresser to collect her clothes and grab a quick shower.

Scott was already finishing his breakfast when she ran down the stairs in her red converse, jean shorts and her white baseball jersey with the black and red lettering standing out against the white. She was wearing the brace on her wrist again, getting a sympathetic look when she walked past their mother to get her own cereal.

"You two will be back before dinner, right?"

"Yea, we shouldn't be too long," Scott answered for the both of them, nearly bouncing in excitement. He had changed into his jean pants and a t-shirt just as Benny had told him to, the blue baseball cap tucked into his back pocket to put on once they stepped outside. Christine ate her cereal in record time, luckily having always been an incredibly fast eater, and was moving out to follow Scott.

"Oh, Christine, you should do something with your hair!" Their mother called. Christine had just pulled the wet strands back into a ponytail at the base of her skull, the long bangs that framed her face beginning to fall out. "I'm sure that boy would be more impressed with something prettier."

"Mom!" The two kids yelled in protest, Scott looking appalled while Christine fought from blushing heavily. "It's not like that!"

"I'm just saying," she defended herself, smiling knowingly. Christine pushed Scott out the door before her, looking at their mother over her shoulder in exasperation. She just smiled innocently, waving to her two children. Christine didn't reply again as she closed the door behind them, releasing Scott's shoulders.

"So, what kind of heat am I going to get for being a girl?" she asked as they stepped down the walk that led to their driveway.

"Uhm, a lot, probably," he finally answered, looking over discretely to the brace on her arm. She didn't notice the look and just nodded her head, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jeans shorts. Her long legs were once more exposed and already looked like the tan had darkened on them sense he had left the morning before.

"Hey, Smalls!" They each looked over to where Benny was jogging to catch up with them, holding his bat and glove once again. "And Talls," he teased as he stepped up beside Christine. She raised an eyebrow at him, before shoving at him with her hip to push him to the side. She was the same height at him, but Scott only came up to her shoulder.

"Bite me, Rodriguez," she teased back, looking forward again. He simply laughed and fell back into place at her side, looking over to her shorter brother.

"Ready to play some ball, Smalls?"

"Yea!"

"You sure you can't play?" Benny asked as he looked down to Christine's right hand, the black brace that was wrapped around it standing against the pure white material of her jersey. He could see a tan line on her arm from wearing the cast that had been on her arm before the brace, the pale and tan skin looking strange so close to one another.

"I'm out of commission for a few more weeks," she relied, lifting up her right hand to try and scratch an itch that was hidden under the back of it by her thumb. "Pain in my butt, that's what it is." Benny laughed at her words, feeling sorry that she had to wear it.

"Hey, guys! Wait up!" The three turned around to where the same boy from the night before was running up to them, holding a baseball mitt of his own as he rushed up to meet them. "Whoa," he muttered when he saw who was walking with them, looking at Christine with wide eyes. She raised an eyebrow at him, looking between the other two boys for a reason. "Benny, when'd you get a girlfriend?"

Benny and Christine looked over to one another before they both burst out laughing, stepping away from each other as they continued to laugh. Benny was the first to recover as Christine leaned on her arm on Scott's shoulder.

"Ham, this is Small's older sister, Christine. Chris, this is Hamilton Porter, we just call him Ham," Benny introduced. Christine smiled to the younger boy with a foolish grin, only just recovered from laughing. She was still leaning on Scott's shoulder, who just seemed used to the action, with her braced arm.

"What's up, man?" she asked evenly, smiling to show her pearly white teeth. He still seemed to be stuck in a state of shock, his mouth hanging open as he looked at her. She was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable from the attention, her smile falling slightly.

"Come on, Ham, before you catch flies," Benny finally interrupted as he smacked the smaller on the back of the head with his mitt.

"Smalls, you never told us you had a hot sister!"

"Man, she's his _sister_. Of course he wouldn't have said that," Benny said with a deadpan tone. Christine looked down at Scott before she rolled her eyes and the two turned to begin walking toward the Sandlot again. Benny and Ham moved after them to follow, forming a line of people walking down the roadway. The others would be waiting for them at the lot, so they all picked up the pace to head down before they were late.

"You two don't even look anything like one another," Ham said after a while, causing Christine to roll her eyes.

"I took after our dad, she got our mothers looks," Scott explained easily, motioning over to Christine as he spoke. Her dark brown hair was opposite to his blond, the reddish tinge showing the difference all the more. Her blue eyes were just about the only thing that they had in common.

"But she's so tall!"

"That's just lucky genetics," Christine threw in. "Our dad wasn't the tallest guy around, but the doctors say that if I keep growing the way I have been then I'll be taller than he was at 5'8''." Benny looked over in surprise, trying to picture a girl that was six feet tall. With how tall she was already it wasn't that hard to imagine. She was already over five feet tall, but barely. She was only an inch or so shorter than him.

"What happened to your arm?" Ham asked loudly, eyeing the brace.

"Baseball accident," She answered, wiggling her fingers and lifting her hand to let him see the brace better.

"Really?" Benny asked in surprise, not having known that bit of information. She just nodded her head, keeping silent about it after that. He knew better than to pry and let that topic drop, moving over to Ham declaring that he was going to try and break his old record that day. They were all still talking about getting Smalls up to bat some time when they got to the lot, the others already waiting around home plate.

"This is going to be fun," Christine whispered to Scott, causing him to laugh quietly as he turned his head away from her. Benny and Ham jogged up to meet with the other guys, the group going quiet when they saw someone walking beside Smalls. She could already hear them demanding Benny who she was, making him and Ham try to get a word in around the questions.

"You know that a baseball field isn't a place for a girl, man," one of the taller guys said as she and Scott walked closer to them.

"She's not here to play, she's only going to watch," Benny explained quickly, catching the ball that one of the guys threw at him. "She's Smalls' older sister."

"What?" Two similar looking boys demanded at the same time, their eyes widening. Benny threw the ball back to the black kid that had thrown it to him originally before he looked over his shoulder to the two siblings. The kid with the ball suddenly threw it over to them, but Scott wasn't wearing his glove and couldn't reach out to catch it.

Using her good hand, Christine easily caught the slow pitch, letting it roll along her fingers until it was resting in her palm. She threw it up behind her back, over her head and back down to fall into her good hand a second time. The guys all watched shocked at the trick, not expecting a girl to have been able to do something even as simple as that.

"It's not like I'm asking to play," she said as she came up to stand beside Benny, tossing the ball to the shocked black kid. The ball bounced off his forehead and Christine caught it fluently again. "So, are you going to just stand around and argue or are you going to play?" she asked, rolling the ball back onto her fingertips before she tossing it at him again. He was able to actually catch it this time around.

"You heard her, base up!" Benny ordered, causing them all to rush off to their positions. Christine laughed softly and turned away to move to the sidelines, letting the guys begin their game. She moved behind the fence to stand behind where Benny was back catcher. Benny turned to smile at her as he turned his blue cap around backward before turning to focus on the game and pull the black mask over his face for protection.

"Come on Smalls, you bat first!"

Christine leaned her arms against the fence, careful not to put too much pressure on her bad wrist. Scott looked over to her as he stepped up to bat, taking the bat that Benny had brought with him. She smiled to him encouragingly, seeing him smile and nod back. He missed the first throw, the ball hitting the catcher's mitt that Benny was wearing.

"Relax your arms, Scott," she called, making him look in her direction as Benny was throwing the ball back to the pitcher. "Don't think so much." Scott smiled again and nodded, turning to face forward and get ready for the ball again. Benny glanced back at her briefly before he crouched down again, holding up his glove. Christine watched as Scott relaxed his arms slightly before the ball came flying his way once more. He swung the bat a moment before a loud crack sounded through the lot, leaving Scott to stand in place starting after the ball. "Run, you blockhead!" she yelled, breaking him out of his daze and forcing him into a run, the bat flying from his hands.

"Run, Smalls!" Benny yelled as he jumped to his feet, lifting the mask off his head.

Christine continued to cheer from where she was behind the fence, clapping her hands for emphasis. She quickly stopped the movement, however, when her wrist was jostled too much and jolts of pain came about. She stepped out to stand beside the fence as Scott rounded past third base just before the ball hit the player's mitt, too slow to get the ball to home plate before Scott stepped down on the once white base.

She couldn't help but to miss the game more than ever before as she watched the joy on her brother's face from getting his first home run. She high-fived him as he passed by her on his way to his position, another player coming up to take his place at bat. She began to learn their names as they came up to bat, Benny saying each of them at some point. The first time she saw Scott catch one of the fly balls she whistled sharply through her fingers, cheering extra loudly.

Ham was just coming up to bat and she moved to sit down on the grass out of the way, loosening the irritating brace on her wrist. She watched as all of the guys laughed when he pointed out over the back fence, causing her to smile when she saw that Scott was laughing along with the other guys. The first ball went right over his bat, smacking into Benny's glove. Benny stood up and looked off in the distance, saying a mock 'whoa' in fake shock.

Christine laughed from where she was sitting, her head falling back.

"You call that pitching?" Ham demanded and the guys in the field all continued to laugh. Benny threw the ball back out to DeNunez, the guys all trying to compose themselves. Christine smiled at the antics and watched the second pitch.

"Alright, Ham, this is my heater! I _dare_ you to hit it!"

Christine watched as Ham prepared himself for the ball, Benny crouching down to receive again while DeNunez wound up for the throw. She saw the quick flash of the ball as it sailed through the air before a loud crack echoed through the lot as the ball hit the bat and went flying. Scott ran to try and catch it, but it went over the far fence, straight out of the park. She winced at the sound of shattering glass, the rest of the guys all beginning to yell at Ham.

Ham just laughed it off and took off at a slow jog around the bases. Christine got to her feet and walked over to where Benny was pulling off the catcher's mask, looking just as upset as the rest of the guys. The guys all began to throw their mitts at Ham as he rounded the bases, smacking him on the head and back.

"Ham, you idiot, now we can't play no more!" Benny yelled, remaining where he was even as the other players all continued to attack Ham.

"Why can't you play?" she asked, walking over to them.

"We don't have enough money to get a new ball," Benny explained, looking over to her. He seemed to have been momentarily surprised that she was there, talking to him. Sweat was covering his forehead from wearing the mask for so long, his hair sticking to his skin in some places.

"Why not just go get the ball, that fence looks easy enough to jump," she replied, looking over to the back fence that Scott was standing by. "My friends and I use to do that all the time."

"No!" he nearly yelled, making her jump back with a start, her eyes widening. "No one goes over that fence!" She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. What was so bad about the person that owned that property that they were worried about going over the fence? Ham was approaching home base and the guys yells all drowned out Scott's yelling from the back. Christine looked back to where Scott had been standing, noticing that he was walking back toward the fence.

He was going to get the ball. She didn't know exactly why Benny was so worried about people going over that fence, but she didn't want her brother to meet it face to face.

"Scott!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, seeing him glance over his shoulder at her before continuing. Squints saw what she was yelling over and immediately took off running toward him. Christine bolted off as well, easily passing the guys. "Scott, stop!" she screamed loudly, using her track legs to carry her well passed the other guys. She could hear Benny behind her, the others all left far behind as they neared the fence fastest.

"I'm just getting the ball!" Scott yelled over to her, his eyes seeming to be frightened at the sight of her in such a panic. Benny jumped over one of the dying bushes to grab a hold of Scott, pulling him down off the fence, the other guys all rushed over to them as well, crowding around the two and helping to carry Scott away.

"Holy crap, you could've been killed!" Squints yelled over all the others, causing Christine to look over to him in shock. Killed?

"Yea, yea, truly. What are you doing?"

"You guys were all leaving so I just thought I'd-"

"If you'd been thinking you wouldn't have thought that!"

"What the hell is going on?" Christine finally yelled, interrupting them all. They looked over to her before looking around at each other. "What is behind that fence that has all you guys acting like girls?" She demanded, looking around at them. They seemed appalled at what she had said, making her glare and silently demand an answer.

"The Beast."

"What is that?" Scott asked, looking over to his sister. Christine didn't seem too pleased with the answer, still looking at the men expectantly. Benny looked over at the other guys before walking forward to Scott, taking his shoulder in his hand and pointing over to the fence with the other.

"Go over to that fence, real slow and be quiet," Benny instructed. Scott tried to deny that he should do it, but Benny continued to interrupt him and edged him over to the fence. Christine looked between Benny and Scott before she gave her brother her undivided attention, waiting to see what he would see. Scott was careful and slow as he stepped up to the fence, constantly looking back at her and the guys.

A loud growl came from the other side just before Scott ran back toward them at full speed, looking panicked.

"Something got the ball!" He declared before turning to look back at the fence quickly. He looked over to Christine with wide eyes before he looked at the Sandlot team once again. "What was that thing?"

Christine looked over, waiting for the answer as well. The group all looked between each other once again before they all spoke up as they turned to leave.

"Camp out!"

* * *

**All of your reviews are so awesome, thank you to all! Camp out seen comes in the next chapter! S'mores! :)**


	4. Within the Branches

**Within The Branches**

"Why do I have to go?" Christine asked as she sat on one of the kitchen counters, a bowl held between her knees as she chopped carrots and let them fall into the bowl. Her mother hated when she did things that way but it was much easier on her with her wrist. Besides, after injuring herself she needed to find new ways to annoy the woman—kindly, though.

"Because you can't let the fact that you have to wear a brace stop you from having fun," her mother explained as she mixed up a salad a couple of feet away. Christine stopped her cutting and looked over to her mother with one dark eyebrow raised.

"They're his friends."

"Oh hush, they're your friends, too." Christine glared at the back of her mother's head for a minute before she began to cut the carrots again, careful not to prick her fingers on the blade. Scott was out setting the table up before he had been ordered to shower before dinner, Christine being told to follow suit.

"You actually trust me to sleep in a tree house full of only guys?" Christine asked in mock astonishment, Bill laughing from the doorway as he stepped in with a cup of coffee in his hand. "What?" she asked in confusion.

"Honey, I would be more worried about the boys," her mother explained. Christine puffed out her cheeks childishly, causing her mother and step-father to laugh. Bill wasn't as stiff around them as he had been before Scott got into baseball. Now he had something that he could connect to Scott with. He was still trying with Christine, but they were getting there.

"Chris, your turn!" Scott said as he ran into the kitchen, his freshly washed hair slicked back and out of his face with a comb. She tossed the remaining carrot and knife into the bowl before placing it on the counter and jumping off.

"Oh! Christine, before I forget!" Her mother's words made the teenager grab a hold of the doorframe to slow her momentum and spin to face the elder woman. "Dr. McIntosh called this afternoon and we arranged another appointment in two weeks, alright?"

"Alright, I'll make note of it in my busy schedule to see if I'm free," she called over her shoulder as she turned to rush up the stairs so she could catch a quick shower before dinner was ready. Scott took up her cutting job so that the vegetables could be boiled in time for Bill to finish cooking the meat on the barbeque.

She stripped off her jersey and jean shorts, turning on the shower water and making sure that it was warm enough before discarding the remainder of her clothes and jumping under the perfectly warm spray of water. She soaked her hair through before pouring a sufficient amount of shampoo into her palm and beginning to scrub ferociously at her scalp, determined to remove all the sweat and sand from the day.

A couple of minutes later as she was just finishing up with rinsing her hair Scott knocked loudly on the door, calling through that dinner was almost ready. She rushed to turn off the tap and quickly dried herself off, pulling her un-brushed hair up into a messy bun at the back of her head. She wrapped herself up in a towel and rushed to her bedroom to get changed, having completely forgotten to bring any clothing with her. She pulled on a pair of her cotton sleeping shorts and loose wide collared shirt before she rushed down to join her family for dinner.

"Just in time, Christine," Bill said as he held out a bowl of bread rolls to carry to the table. She nodded her head and took the rolls before hurrying over to join the others. Her mother didn't comment on her lack of brace this time, even though she was sure that her mother knew she wasn't wearing it.

"So, you're going with Scott tonight?" her mother asked once everyone was seated, starting the meal conversation off first.

"I don't know why you want me to go," Christine said before taking in a piece of the steak that Bill had grilled. The spices were strong and made her mouth water, almost making her moan in pure delight at the taste.

"But you have to come!" Scott said quickly, causing her to look over to him in surprise. "Benny said that you had to come, that even if it's already a full team you're still a part of it," he explained, causing his sister to resist the urge to blush. Had he actually said that? When had he said that? She was fairly certain that she had always been by Scott during the day.

"That cute boy that came to the door?" her mother asked, causing Christine to look over to her quickly. "He came while you were in the shower. He'd originally asked for you but since you couldn't make it Scott spoke with him."

"You have to come," Scott repeated, making her roll her eyes as she swallowed the food in her mouth. "I promised Benny that you would come, and you want to know about what they have to say just as much as I do, about the yard behind the lot-"

"Alright, alright," she agreed quickly, holding up her hands in surrender as she cut off Scott's rambling. "I'll come to the camp out, just calm down." Scott did relax after her answer, making her promise that she's be ready to go in time. "I'll make you a deal, take over my dish duty and I'll have everything I need by the time you're done," she offered, holding out her right hand for him to shake. Scott hesitated before he carefully shook her hand, not wanting to hurt her.

"Deal."

Scott stayed behind to help clean up after dinner while Christine ran up the stairs to get everything that she would need for the camp out, such as her brace, sleeping bag—pillow rolled inside the sleeping bag—and a change of clothes for the next day. She ran a brush through her hair in record time, removing all the knots that had formed while she was showering before she stuffed that in her bag of clothes as well. She was already wearing her pyjamas so she didn't need to worry about changing into them. Scott was already wearing his as well, so she knew that she wouldn't need to change while there.

She pulled on a pair of socks and her red converse before she picked up her messenger bag with the stuff she'd need and her rolled up sleeping bag. Scott was just finishing the dishes with his mother when she jogged down the steps, noticing his things at the bottom of the stairs.

"Christine, just put your brace on until before you go to sleep, alright? I don't want you climbing into a tree without it," Her mother called over to her as she placed the freshly cleaned plates in the cupboard. Christine knew that she was right and nodded her head, moving back to her bag so she could get it.

"Can we go now?" Scott asked quickly, moving to pull on his own shoes.

"Don't forget your coats!"

"_Mom!_"

They were rushing out the door a couple minutes later with their things in their arms and light spring jackets on their shoulders. Christine kept her jogging pace light so that Scott could keep up with her, their shoes thudding down against the cement and concrete as they ran. Christine laughed when Scott nearly tripped before helping him along, holding onto his wrist with her braced hand as she continued running until they reached the Sandlot. They could already hear the guys up in the tree house, some lights flickering about inside it.

"You go on up first," she offered as she motioned to the ladder. Scott nodded and arranged his things on his arms so that he could climb up. Christine waited until he was about halfway up before she followed suit, careful not to use her right hand too much for support. Scott stepped up into the tree house and tossed his things over to Yeah-Yeah before he pulled himself up.

"About time, man!"

"Yeah, yeah, we'd thought you chickened out!"

Benny looked over to where Scott was pulling himself up into the space, looking around in awe for a moment. "Where's Christine?" he called over, catching more of the guys' attention.

"Oh, Benny and Chris, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-ow!" the Timmons siblings were cut off when Christine smacked down the front of their baseball caps, hitting them in the noses.

"There'll be no kissing in any trees," she said loudly, glaring in mock anger at the two brothers. She tossed her black sleeping bag over to her brother before hoisting herself up the rest of the way, stepping into the space fully. She had to duck down in certain areas because of her height, making for awkward walking.

"Sorry we're late, Chris made me do the dishes and then our mom wouldn't let us leave without our jackets," Scott explained as he moved further into the space. The guys all complained to Chris about making him to the dishes, but she was quick to defend herself.

"Hey, you're supposed to help your elders! Especially when they're crippled!" Ham threw a gram cracker at her, only resulting with getting it thrown back at him and pegging in the forehead. Benny laughed from where he was lying on the ground beside where Ham had his S'more station, getting the same piece of food thrown at him as well.

"Hey, you want a S'more?"

Benny took notice when the guys all looked over at Christine when she was walking past them, trying to find a place to sit down in the crowded space. Her toned legs were shown off more than usual in her cotton shorts and the shirt that she was wearing hung off one shoulder and resulted in exposing her bra strap. She kicked Squints when she noticed him looking, causing him to quickly scramble up to higher ground on the bunk that he had claimed as his own, his red sleeping bag already hanging there.

"Oh, I'll have a S'more," Christine said as she leant over Scott's shoulder to look at the ingredients that he had lain out.

"How does he not know what a S'more is?" Ham demanded as he looked up to the older sibling. Christine smiled and wrapped an arm around her brother's shoulder, pulling him into a mocking one armed hug. Scott tried to escape but she was stronger.

"Scotty here has lived a very…_sheltered_ life," she explained, ruffling his hair once before she backed off again.

"Better a sheltered life than a criminal one," Scott shot back. The guys quieted a moment at his words, looking over to her. But she was simply smiling and ducked down so that they were face to face again.

"I was never arrested."

"The police chief knew you by name."

"He knew yours, too."

"Only because I was always there when they brought you home."

Christine finally gave up with a roll of her eyes and simply shoved a cracker in her brother's mouth, making him choke and sputter for a minute in recovery. The light banter between the siblings helped the rest of the group to ease after the initial word 'criminal'.

"What did you get arrested for?" DeNunez asked curiously.

"I wasn't arrested, but I did have a bad habit of trespassing. The first time I got caught my friends and I had been stealing oranges from Mrs. Fernandez's yard," she explained, smiling at the memory. "I would have gotten away, too, if I hadn't gotten hooked on the fence." She lifted up the side of her shirt to show an old faded scar about two inches long.

"Whoa, awesome," Yeah-Yeah said as he leaned forward to look at the scar better. She dropped her shirt back down before long, looking over to Ham when he held out a S'more to her, extra chocolate put on. She smiled her thanks and accepted the treat, leaning back against the little booth he had made as she attempted to eat it. She did her best to keep the marshmallow off her fingers, but failed miserably at it. Benny laughed at the sight of her stretching out the mallow before she could actually eat it, getting a kick in the thigh because of it.

He kicked her back in retaliation, resulting in a mini foot war between the two that ended up with others getting kicked as well.

"Alright, quiet you guys!" The guys in the room all began to shush one another, amusing Christine greatly. She was actually pretty glad that she had tagged along. "Are you trying to wake it up? It just went to bed!"

"What just went to bed?" Scott asked loudly, causing Christine to flinch because his voice was right beside her ear. The guys all turned to him and hushed him again, causing him to recoil slightly before he went silent.

"The beast!" The all whispered urgently at the same time.

"Oh, yea!" Scott nearly yelled in remembrance. Benny reached over Christine's shoulder to smack his arm, his jacket sleeve brushing her neck. She snorted as she tried not to laugh at her brother's momentary idiocy, shaking her head and finishing off the last piece of her S'more.

Squints soon fell into the tale of the Beast, shining a light up onto his face from above like she had remembered doing when camping out with friends and they were telling scary stories. She listened to what he had to say as he told the story of Beast, and the owner, Mr. Mertle. She actually began to doze slightly up until Squints slammed his light down on the bunk beside her and roused her awake again. She looked around at the fearful faces of all the occupants of the tree house.

"See, man?" Bertram asked as he looked over at Scott, "That's why you can't go over there. Nobody ever has, nobody ever will."

Scott shared his sister's ability to not believe in horrors stories and voiced his doubts to everyone, tossing his sleeping bag aside. Squints soon dared the both of them to look out the window of the room that hung over a piece of Mr. Mertle's yard, and look down. Christine rolled onto her feet with ease and stepped after her brother to look out the window, down into the yard. Scattered bones and broken furniture and various other bits of debris made her look around curiously, but she didn't see any sign of a 'beast'.

She watched as something came out from what appeared to be a large dog house, the darkness of the night concealing what it looked like. She frowned in concentration to try and see what it was as it began to approach the tree house, Scott jumping back and rushing over to the other guys. She leaned out the window further to try and get a better look. It seemed to have a large dog shape.

She yelped in surprise when someone took hold of her shirt and pulled her back and away from the window, the both of them falling back just as a loud growl sounded from below and the club area shoot slightly, then went silent again. Christine's heart was racing in her chest from the speed of which everything had happened, all of the other guys nearly trembling in fear. Benny had his arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind with her back to his chest. He was breathing more heavily than she was and she was the one that could have tipped out the window only a minute ago.

"It's a dog," she finally said, looking around at everyone.

"It's a beast," Benny said back, looking down at her from over her shoulder. She looked back, leaning her elbows on his thighs so she didn't fall. "Whatever goes over that fence, you _never_ get it back."

"It becomes property of the Beast," Squints threw in.

**Sorry that it took FOREVER to get this chapter out! I don't have a good reason, just pure laziness on my part. I apologize! And now I want a s'more… :P**


	5. Bound in Cages

**Bound in Cages**

Benny laid back on his sleeping bag with his arms up above his head, listening to the sounds of the crickets outside and Ham snorting in his sleep every once and a while as the other guys snored lightly. The only person that was silent in their sleep was Chris. She had taken the second upper bunk that he usually slept on, no one actually saying it aloud when he told her to sleep there. She was basically right above where he was sleeping, if he were to sit up then he'd be able to see her.

It was nearly sunrise, the colours barely touching the horizon. Benny didn't dare move so he didn't wake anyone up, he would have to climb over a couple of different bodies in order to get to the door so there wasn't any point. Also, Christine's arm had fallen to drape partially over the side of the 'bed' she was sleeping on and her hand was hanging only a couple inches from his stomach. He didn't want to risk bumping her arm and waking her up. He also took notice that it was her injured arm.

Baseball. She had said several times that it was baseball that had caused her injury; Scott had brought it up once with him while they were hanging out, but the actual event that caused the broken wrist had never been brought into conversation. He wasn't so rude otherwise he would have asked.

He sighed silently and looked over to the hand that still hovered above his stomach, wishing that he could ask her about why she had played baseball. She seemed to avoid talking about herself when with the guys and they were talking about that particular sport. She wasn't shy about anything else, but she avoided baseball like it was the plague. She always shifted the topic to Scott, teasing him, or asking one of the guys a question efficient enough to distract them.

Benny's attention was drawn to along her wrist, one long surgical scar visible along the bone and several smaller punctures up along her forearm. The white scars stood out extremely harsh against her sun kissed skin. His eyebrows drew down in a frown of confusion as he pulled himself up slightly, placing his hand under her own and raising her arm lightly to get a better look at it. He recognized the pattern of the scars on her arm.

Christine's arm jerked as she woke up at the contact, moving to draw her hand away. Benny could see her face as she looked around herself groggily, trying to decipher what had happened to wake her up and where she was. She finally looked over to him, her blue eyes registering surprise. There was a seriousness to his face that she had only ever seen when he was playing baseball.

"What?" she asked quietly and kept her voice down so the others didn't hear her. She had a strong feeling that many of them slept like the dead, but she didn't want to risk it.

"Your scars," he began, looking to the arm that she had pulled toward herself when she awoke, "They're in the shape of cleat marks."

Her tan face seemed to pale in the dim light as soon as he spoke, but she said nothing and didn't look away from his brown eyes. Benny looked away first to glance around the room, seeing a path that they were able to take to get outside without stepping on or kicking anyone. He got to his feet carefully and quietly, watching her look turn to confusion.

"Come on," he offered, holding his hand out to help her up. She hesitated only a moment before taking his hand in her left and allowing him to help her off her 'bed' and weave around the boys effortlessly and without problems. He stepped down the ladder first, touching the bottom before he turned his attention to her. She hadn't put on her brace and her arm was protesting the work so soon. When she was far enough Benny took hold of her waist from behind her and lifted her down the rest of the way to the ground. She let out a startled gasp but allowed herself to be moved.

"Thanks," she mumbled quietly once she was on her feet, the grass and sand crunching beneath her red converse. He had been surprised to learn that she had slept in her shoes, but most of the other guys did, too, when in the tree fort. Him included. "I'm guessing you want to know the details?"

"Yea," Benny said as though the fact were obvious. "But let's go over to home plate, I don't want to wake up the guys."

The horizon was alight with the rising sun, the large ball not yet peeking over the edge or their sights. The dew kept the grass they walked on wet, dampening both of their shoes. Christine could still feel the chill of early morning on her bare legs as they walked, the movement helping to warm her up. She had fallen asleep wearing her bright red jacket so she wasn't overly cold. Benny walked into the dugout that they had made for themselves near home, soon followed by Christine.

"Alright," Christine began, falling to sit on the wooden bench a couple feet from Benny. She turned herself so that her feet were on the bench with her knees tucked up toward her chest, facing the tanned baseball player. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything; about baseball, your arm," he answered, motioning to the bare injury.

"That's a long story," she replied quietly. Benny laughed, throwing her off a moment.

"Those guys sleep like the dead! Trust me, we've got time." The smile that he wore exposed his perfect white teeth, causing her to smile in return. She took a deep breath before letting it out in a quick huff of air.

"Alright, well, I guess that the beginning of all of this would be two years ago," she began, meeting his eyes as she spoke. "I had always loved playing baseball; playing any sport, really. But I did have a favour for baseball. Anyway, there wasn't a girl's baseball team at our school—they had softball but it wasn't the same—and a couple of the guys that I played ball with after school suggested that I try out for the guys team."

Benny had been nodding along as she spoke, watching as she looked around every so often as she remembered things that had happened during the moments that she spoke to him about. But her blue eyes always returned to his chocolate brown ones.

"A couple of my friends were on that team and they fully supported the idea. So, I approached the coach on it and he immediately laughed in my face, saying 'a baseball field is no place for a girl, go back to the pools where you belong'. I hated him after that and gave up trying."

"What?" Benny asked, shocked. She raised an eyebrow and gave him a look, silencing him. He nodded for her to continue, looking sheepish about his interrupted.

"_But_," she started again, punctuating the word, "The guys talked me into coming to watch one of their practices one day. I felt bad for saying no just because I didn't like the coach so I went, I sat in the bleachers and watched them play. When practice ended I went down to talk with them and they suggested that we play for a bit, just have fun. I was at bat and I accidentally put a ball through the coaches office window. I fully expected him to furious, but when he came out with the ball and demanded who had hit it, he told me to meet him after school the next day for a try-out."

Benny interrupted a bit more politely this time, "Wait, wait, are you telling me that you broke a window and were offered a place on the team? You got on the team by accident?"

"Technically, yes. I went to the try-out and apparently I was good enough because he offered me a place on the team. Of course, I took it. At first the guys didn't like having me around, or most of them anyway. They tried _everything_ to get me to quit. But I didn't let them get to me, ever. They finally started getting used to me when we started playing against rival schools. They finally accepted me as a part of the team fully when I won a game for us when it would have been a tie by getting a homerun. The other guys all got to home plate as well as myself, of course.

"My mom was relieved beyond belief when I finally had something to do after school and she didn't need to worry about me getting myself into trouble anymore." Benny could tell that that was the ending of her first story, about her playing baseball. She had played it for a long time, but now he knew why she didn't have a thing against playing with a group of guys like him and the gang.

"What about your arm, what happened to break your arm?" he asked carefully. She shifted the way that she was sitting so she had her legs crossed with her back leaning against one of the support beams. She looked down at her arm and carefully ran a hand over the scars.

"The last game that I was supposed to play with my team was against one of the other schools that we had the worst relationship with. They were known to vandalize all the schools that they lost to, sometimes even when they won just for spite, and we were determined to win just to shove it in their faces!" She smiled at the memory of her team all talking trash before the game to get themselves fired up.

"I was up to bat, the bases were loaded and if I messed this one up then we'd lose," she started, her face losing any trace of happiness. Benny leaned toward her in anticipation, wondering what she was going to say. "I hit the ball far into the outfield, but it wasn't a homerun. I started running to first, the others all started running their way to home. The people in the stands were going _crazy_. I could hear Scott yelling from the fence, "_Run, Chris, run_!" And I ran, I passed first and second base easily, but I knew the ball was coming back.

"I was looking over to the rest of the team, all standing waiting for me to pass home. I didn't see when the guy on third stepped in my way. He didn't have the ball, but he blocked me and I was knocked onto the ground. I got the wind knocked out of me so I wasn't really sure what was going on. Everyone was yelling, the players, the coaches, the fans. The guy from third was fighting with one of the guys on my team when he stepped forward and tripped on my legs, pushing the guy from second backward when he tried to catch himself." She paused a moment as her thumb stroked over a couple of the small puncture wounds on her arm. Benny remained quiet, waiting.

"He stepped backward to catch himself and ended up stepping on my arm. His cleats cut me up a lot but his weight was too much and he ended up breaking my wrist."

Benny remained quiet for a moment as he watched her, seeing the unhappiness that filled her eyes, in complete contrast with earlier. The sun was beginning to crest over the horizon, touching the tops of the trees with sunlight and warmth. The extra light allowed him to see her better, his eyes inspecting her arm. The marks matched her story perfectly. He could see it happen in his mind, the scream she must have let loose and the fury of her team members.

"What about when your arm's healed?" Benny asked carefully.

"I don't know," she admitted. "God, I miss the game. You have no idea how much I want to play baseball. But every time I touch a bat or pick up a ball all I can think of is what it felt like when that guys stepped on my wrist, or when I was pushed to the ground and couldn't breathe-"

"Hey," Benny interrupted, relieving her this time. He took a hold of her hand in his, the weakened appendage gently clutching his back. "It's all in your head. I'm going to tell you what I told Smalls when I was teaching him to play. _You've got to stop thinking so much._ You should know that."

"When you play the game, yea, but this is different! This isn't just not being able to catch or throw. I know it's all in my head, but it's not so easily forgotten!" Benny hadn't seen Chris angry before, he had seen her when she was joking around or pretending to be angry with the guys, but he hadn't even seen her get mad and yell before. "I'm afraid! It's not just that I can't do it, I'm afraid to!"

Benny knew from her reaction that she hadn't admitted this to anyone else, she had hid it away from everyone; probably even Scott. He didn't know what it was like to be afraid to play baseball, it was something that he had lived and breathed for so long that it was life for him. The way that she spoke about it made it sound like it was more than just a hobby to her as well, and he couldn't imagine being afraid to play it.

"Maybe things will change when you actually try and play. I mean, up until now you weren't able to play because of your wrist, right?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "I won't know until the doctor gives me the green light to play and even then I don't know if I'll be able to bring myself to do it," she explained, leaning back against the beam again. Benny turned her hand in his, exposing the scars from the accident.

"These marks will only ruin you if you let them. The same goes for all those memories of yours, you can be strong enough to fight against them if you really want to. Remember, they're just memories, they can't hurt you anymore." He grinned then, causing her stomach to flutter at the happiness on his face. "Besides, me and the guys won't let anything happen to you."

She smiled back, knowing full well that he was telling the truth. She had grown to really enjoying hanging around with the guys, and not just because they shared her love for the game. It was just a relief to be around a team of guys again. She had spent so long with male friends that it was harder for her to make friend of her own gender then it was with a group of guys her age.

"I know you won't," she agreed finally, nodding her head with a smile. She squeezed his hand gently to let him know that she was alright before she rose to her feet, moving over to press a kiss against his cheek with her cheeks flaming with a blush. "Come on, before the guys all get the wrong idea of us being alone," she teased.

"I think they already have that idea," he joked back but still rose to his feet, releasing her hand and beginning to jog back. "Race you!"

"Hey!" she yelled in protest before taking off after him, catching up fairly easily and racing him back toward the ladder that led to the tree house. She beat him, of course, but she just knew that he had taken it easy on her. Whether it was because he wanted to be nice to her or because he felt that it was because he had an advantage over a girl she wasn't sure.

**Wow, been a while since I've update. So sorry! I made sure this chapter wasn't short, so that makes up for it slightly… Anyway, hope everyone liked it and I REALLY hope that I get some reviews… **


	6. Faltered Flight

**Faltered Flight**

Christine laid on her stomach on her bed, wearing only a pair of small jean shorts and her bikini top, her hair thrown to the side to keep it off her back as she was assaulted by the heat that had wrapped the entire valley up. Her mother clicked her tongue from the doorway, sounding displeased at her daughter's actions. She didn't really care, though, because she already felt like she was going to melt away.

"Even Scott went out to play ball," she said from the doorway, only getting Chris to open her eyes.

"Trust me, mum, none of the boys will be playing ball today," Chris retaliated, but didn't move otherwise.

"Chris, go and do something! I thought that I had to worry about your brother not having a social life, not you," she commented before turning and leaving. The older Smalls sibling opened her eyes again and let out a huff before she rolled off her bed and moved over to pull on her converse and grab her board. The wind might help.

The heat of the day hit hard as soon as she stepped outside, nearly making her turn right back around just to get out of the sunlight, but she knew that her mother would probably have locked the door or something. Wearing only her bikini top, converse shoes, shorts and arm brace, she boarded down toward the stores to see if there was something she could get to cool down. She'd thrown some change into her pocket to get maybe a drink or something.

She waved to the people that she knew as she passed them, different woman that were with their children waving back. Some of them didn't trust her with the sight of her; wearing no shirt over her bikini top and on a skateboard, but she didn't much care. What was the point in concerning herself with what others thought when she could just live the way she wanted?

"Christine!" A female voice called out, drawing the teenager's attention. A woman was standing in the entrance to a shop, appearing to have been ready to enter when she saw the other girl. She turned her board to cross onto the pavement and carefully kicked it up into her hand.

"Hello, Ms. Carson," she greeted with a smile, squinting her eyes against the sunlight. "How are you?"

"Let's go inside and talk, it's too hot out here," Ms. Carson said, waving Christine forward and opening the door wider. The café was air-conditioned, a heaven compared to outside. "I never got the chance to thank you for babysitting the twins on such short notice, it was pretty late when you left."

"It was no trouble; they mostly just slept while I was there. It helped that I have a younger brother that I helped to take care of," Christine assured with a smile as she moved over to a table and sat opposite the single mother. "Are they in daycare today?"

"Yes, they've been missing their friends," Ms. Carson answered with a smile. "Now, let me buy you lunch as a thank you."

Christine's eyes widened as she held up her hands in surrender, "You already paid me, Ms. Carson-"

"Oh hush," she interrupted gently, smiling to the teenager across from her. She had only babysat for the woman a couple of times when she had to take on a sudden double shift at work and she did so happily. She lived just around the corner from her house so it wasn't any trouble to get there and back and she was glad to help out. She also got more money than she would with her allowance so she wasn't about to complain. "Now, what do you want?"

Christine didn't try to protest again and picked up the menu from the side of the table, looking down at what was there. She looked through the prices and pretended to contemplate after she had found it before settling on the egg salad sandwich. Ms. Carson nodded and signalled over the waitress that was working there.

"How have you been, dear?" she asked once their orders had been placed, turning back to look at the younger woman. Ms. Carson was still very young with two three year old twins that she was raising by herself. She reminded Christine a lot of her own mother after her father had died when she was a kid and she and Scott were raised by her mother and family alone.

"Great, enjoying the summer of course," she answered back automatically, smiling. "I should be allowed to take this brace off soon, too, so I'm looking forward to that."

"That's good, you must be hating the tan line that thing causes," Ms. Carson teased, getting an enthusiastic nod from Christine.

They continued up a light conversation all through the simple meal, talking about things from Ms. Carson's work at one of the popular diner's in the valley to what Christine thought she would do after school. She wasn't even sure about that but tried to answer to the best of her ability. It was easier to talk to the older woman because of her friendly attitude and the fact that she was actually closer to her age than most mothers. She was only twenty-two, having had the twins when she was nineteen, marrying straight after school. Her husband had died only a year and a half before and she was holding herself together very well.

It was already fairly late in the afternoon when they stood, both needing to leave for different reasons.

"Thank you so much once again, Christine. I'll give you a call if I need a babysitter again, alright?" She nodded her head as answer and waved to the woman as she turned in the opposite direction, laying her board down again and kicking down on the pavement to push herself onward. At least she could save the money in her pocket now.

She slowed down slightly when she was making her way along the street alongside the public pool, noticing a very familiar group of boys as they rushed away from it in only their swim trunks and the rest of their things in their hand and arms. She rolled her eyes in disbelief and continued on, making her way around the corner.

"Chris! Wait up!"

Looking over her shoulder, she stopped kicking the ground to gain speed but didn't do anything to slow herself down and watched as Benny raced her way, holding his shirt in one hand with his towel draped over his shoulder. It was strange seeing him in shorts after always seeing him in long jeans to play ball in. If you played ball in shorts you'd get cut up for sure.

"Come on, Rodriguez, that the fastest you can run?" she called to him, a smirk coming to her lips. He picked up speed at that, catching her off guard and making her eyes widen in surprise. He jumped forward suddenly, landing with both feet on her board. His momentum shot them forward, drawing a small shriek of surprise from Chris when they lost balance. His shorts were wet against her legs and the bare skin of his chest and stomach pressed against the exposed skin of her back.

They hit the grass along the side of the walk, her board continuing on until it hit a fire hydrant and was forced to stop. She gasped in surprise at the cold feel of the water dripped from his hair onto her face and shoulders, stealing his shirt and hitting him with it.

"Get off! You're wet!" she yelled out, whipping him with his shirt. He took hold of the material and pulled it from her hands, shaking his head to cause the water in his hair to spray everywhere. She screamed at the cold feeling and ducked away, making a dive for her board. Benny was still laughing on the ground when she had her board in her hand and was wiping at her arms and face to get the water off.

"Hey, Benny, where'd you go?" Yeah-Yeah called from the corner, looking around. Benny got up from the ground and waved them over, still grinning. "Chris! You missed it!" he yelled as he ran over, the other guys all running to catch up. They were all dripping wet, fresh from the water of the public pool.

"Missed what?" she asked curiously, looking at him as he ran right up to her. They guys were soon all talking at once, all but Benny and Scott, trying to tell her what happened at the pool. She was able to piece together what had happened by catching bits of what everyone was saying and burst into a fit of laughter. Only her boys would do such a thing.

"He's a legend! He's kissed a woman!" Timmy said in awe, his brother repeating 'yea, a legend!' afterword. She looked between the guys with a strange look on her face, trying to understand exactly how a kiss was something so important to them. Albeit, she hadn't kissed anyone either but she would never waste that first kiss by damn near attacking a lifeguard.

"Kissing a girl makes you a legend?" she asked in disbelief, shocked at the uproar of 'yes' that she got in answer. "Alright, alright! Sorry, I'm not used to your 'boy ways'," she defended, raising her arms and stepping back.

"Hey, hey, look," Yeah-Yeah said as he pointed up at the sky in the distance, drawing everyone's attention. Storm clouds were starting to roll in, probably from all of the heat. "Maybe it'll rain! Oh, please rain!" They all groaned in agreement, nodding their heads. It looked like it was pretty close and the wind was pushing the clouds in the valley's direction.

"That would be so great," Chris agreed, looking over the dark grey clouds. If it did rain then it was going to rain hard and if the boys were banned from the pool that would be the next best thing. Her board suddenly disappeared, causing her to cry out in surprise and spin around to where Benny was taking off at a run with the board in his hands. "You little-get back here!"

She took off at a dead run after him, listening to his laughter as he dodged passed the people in his way and made his way toward their street. She kept pace behind him easily, but because there were so many people moving about she kept getting cut off whenever she was close. She saw him veer off to head up to his own house when she was finally able to get a clear run at him and leapt onto his back, the sweaty skin of his back sticking to her stomach.

Her board flew onto the grass that covered his lawn, the two of them following suit soon after when her momentum took Benny right off his feet. He tried not to land on her when they hit the ground and rolled, Chris trying to avoid getting crushed at the same time. Benny's heart dropped when he heard her yelp of sudden pain and rolled onto his knees faster than he had ever before. She was lying on her side, propped on one elbow and holding her braced wrist in one hand.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," he started, moving over to her. Her face was pinched in pain as she tried to wave him off.

"No, it's my fault, I landed on it badly," she tried to assure, but he knew that wasn't true. He had felt the coarse material of the brace under his shoulder blade when he rolled. He had landed on her wrist and it was his fault that she was in pain.

"I know it's my fault, Chris. I'm so sorry about that," he apologized as he kneeled next to her, reaching for her arm but stopping at the last minute as he thought better about touching her in fear of hurting her again. "Come inside, we'll get some ice on it," he insisted and rose up to his feet, offering her a hand. She used her good one to take it and let him help her up.

"It's not that bad, really-"

"Just come inside," he interrupted.

Benny's house was a lot like hers structurally, but it was decorated very differently. It was easy to see that baseball was a family interest when you looked around at all of the different photos and knickknacks around the place on shelves. He took her to the kitchen immediately and told her to sit while he moved to get come ice and put it in a cloth. She found her eyes moving around the space, inspecting things. They kitchen looked most like her mother's, everything in its place and perfectly set.

"Here, do you need some help with the brace?" he asked as he set the bag of ice beside her on the table. She nodded her head sheepishly and held out her wrist. He surprised her with how gentle he was being, pulling at each of the straps gently so that he didn't hurt her wrist any further. She watched his face, seeing the concern that played across his features.

Her wrist didn't look any different, but there was still a jolt of pain when she moved it too suddenly. Benny pulled a chair up across from her and held her wrist gently in his right, while he picked up the ice with his left. She was curious about what he was going to do before she watched as he placed the ice on her wrist and wrapped it slightly so that it covered the majority of the joint.

The ice felt wonderful and she sighed in relief. "Where'd you learn to do that?" she asked after a beat of silence passed between them. His warm hand contrasted with the cold ice.

"You're not the only one that's gotten hurt playing baseball," he answered with a faint smile, getting a laugh out of her as she nodded in understanding. "Thought any more about if you're gunna play again? The guys wouldn't mind, you know. They've gotten so used to you that it wouldn't surprise them if you started playing with us."

"I guess it'll all come down to when I'm cleared to play; I don't really know what I'll do until I'm faced with that option."

Benny just nodded his head, understanding what she was saying. He would never fully be able to know what she felt; the fear of playing the game. Playing baseball was in his blood, hers too, but she had been through such a traumatic thing that it wasn't a surprise she felt she couldn't go through with playing it anymore.

"Benjamin!" a female voice called suddenly, alerting Benny. He was careful not to jar Chris's wrist, however, as he looked over in the direction of the front door.

"In the kitchen, ma!" he called out. The woman was wearing something with a heel as she made her way toward the kitchen, the loud tapping sound the only thing that was heard in the house. She had strong Italian features, clearly visible the second that she stepped into the kitchen doorway. She stopped immediately at the sight of Chris.

"Oh, who's this?" she asked curiously, her eyes staying on their hands for a moment.

"Ma, this is Christine Smalls, Scott's older sister. Chris this is my mother Josephina Rodriguez," he introduced, never once removing his hold on her wrist. Chris smiled over to the woman, getting a smile in return.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Rodriguez," Chris said as she offered her a hand to shake. The older woman walked over and took her good, free hand in hers and gave one gentle shake. "Sorry if I'm inconveniencing you in any way-"

"It's my fault," Benny interrupted before Chris could finish. He looked over to his mother when she looked to him for an explanation. "I took her board as a joke and she chased after me, I ended up landing on her wrist when she tried to take it back." It was easy to hear the guilt in his voice as he explained.

"Oh, you're that girl I've seen around town, with the brace," she said suddenly, her eyes landing on the very black brace she was talking about. "Benny!"

"I know, I said I was sorry!" he answered with a flinch she was raised her voice to him.

"It's not completely his fault, I tackled him to try and get my skateboard. We're both to blame for what happened. Besides, it's not broken or anything, just hurts a bit. The ice helps," Chris intervened, not wanting Benny to get in any trouble because of what happened when they were joking around. It had all been in good fun, it just didn't have the best outcome.

"Do you want me to get you anything else?" she asked in concern, her motherly side taking over. Chris smiled to her but declined politely. When the ice started to melt through the cloth Benny went to go and put it in the sink before they made a mess. Chris assured him that he didn't need to use up any more and began to put her brace back on.

"Here, let me," he intervened as he took the brace from her hand and carefully wrapped it around her wrist, sliding her thumb through one of the sections and then her ring and pinkie before he wrapped it securely around her wrist, making sure that she wasn't in any pain, and secured the straps. His mother watched from the kitchen the whole time, using the guise of getting things out for dinner.

"I should be getting home before mom sends out a search party," Chris said once the brace was secure.

"I'll walk you over. I'll be right back, Ma!"

They both stopped when the opened the front door, looking out into the heavily pouring rain. How long had they been in there? The rain was so heavy that it was hard to see Chris's house across the street and it was already running in heavy currents along the curb and down to the drains that prevented flooding. There was no one out on their lawns as there had been on their way over.

"My board," Chris suddenly yelped and leapt out the door, rushing over to where her skateboard still laid on the lawn in the rain.

The grass was slick and she nearly slipped when she stopped too quickly. She turned to Benny as he closed the door to his house and rushed after her, running with her across the street and to her front door. By the time they were under the protection of the roof they were completely soaked through. They couldn't help but laugh though as they tried to wipe the water off their faces, only to have more drip down from their hair.

"Well, that was fun," Chris joked, grinning up at him. Benny smiled back, the enjoyment clearly visible in his eyes. Christ couldn't help but to feel her heart grow lighter now that his eyes were no longer filled with concern and guilt after what happened with her wrist.

"Mmm, I think I still enjoy baseball a bit more," he returned, causing another laugh to pass her lips. He would, of course. That wasn't news to anyone. There wasn't a single thing out there that Benny liked more than to play baseball.

"Well, thank you for walking me home and sacrificing whatever dryness had come back to you shorts," she finally said as she looked down to his soaked swim shorts and the shirt that he had pulled back on. He really didn't look like he had a care in the world, however.

"Any time."

Another silence fell between them as Chris waited, wondering why he was pausing. She had expected for him to run straight home again. After all, he had only told his mother had he would be right back. Her heart began to beat faster inside her chest when he leaned forward slightly, hesitating a moment before he ducked and pressed a quick and light kiss against her cheek.

It was then that he rushed out into the rain and toward his home.

Chris stared at the place where he had previously stood, unable to move. Her cheeks heated to the point of being cherry red and she was finally able to look over to where he was rushing up the path to his front door, his head lowered in the rain. Her hand moved to her cheek and a smile broke across her face, unable to control her body as she turned to the door and opened it to get away from the light spray that was coming from the water hitting the ground.

**Hope everyone liked the new chapter, I even gave you a kiss in hopes of your forgiveness of taking way too damn long! Not a kiss on the lips, but these things do take time you know…**


	7. Wings of an Angel

**Wings of an Angel**

"Oh, Christine," Mrs. Smalls said as she stepped into her daughters doorway, a smile touching her lips as she looked over the teenager. Christine looked up from where she was pulling on her converse shoes, the only thing that actually reminded her of normality. Her mother had bought her a dress for the fourth of July celebrations, forgoing shoes because she knew that she wouldn't wear them, and had told her that she had no choice but to wear at least that. "You're so beautiful."

The dress was a pristine white that brought out her tanned skin. There was a thick red sash that tied at the front in a bow to the left side, at her ribs. The neckline was modest and the length was to her knees in a flare. Whenever she would spin, even just turn slightly, the light material would flow open and ripple around her waist. But she would actually admit she liked the dress, it was one of the only times that she was able to feel feminine and not have a bunch of guys calling her a 'girl' in the form on an insult. It showed off her female side more than anything else she owned.

"Thanks," she said back with a faint smile, a blush coming to her cheeks. Her mother had curled her hair, even, into large rings that fell around her shoulders and down her back. Come to think of it, she didn't even remember ever wearing her hair down around the guys. She didn't mind at home, but it was always so hot at the sandlot and she preferred to have her hair away from her neck.

"You look so beautiful, honey."

"Do you…do you think he'll like it?" she asked quietly, pulling at the sides of the skirt and turning for her mom. The red converse shoes stood out drastically with the dress, but it was just so Christine that anyone who knew her wouldn't be surprised at the choice of footwear.

"He'll think you're magnificent," her mother assured as she walked over to her. She wasn't wearing any makeup, but her face was in the perfect stage where she didn't have any blemishes and her eyes stood out from her high cheek bones with her full lips. "Go and have some fun; relax. I'm sure you'll see him along the street somewhere."

Chris nodded her head and moved to walk passed her mom, pausing once to give her a quick hug before she rushed down the stairs. Scott was sitting with their stepdad, talking about Scott's latest game with the Sandlot gang, when Bill suddenly stopped talking at the sight of Christine. She smiled her greeting and spun around, showing him to dress.

"It's not too much, is it?"

Scott turned at the sound of her voice, watching as she turned for them to show the entire dress off. With her tanned skin and long legs, it suited her just right.

"No, you look perfect. Are you going out for a while?"

"Yea, mom says I should enjoy the festivities. I'll stay close to home, though," she assured, giving one last smile before she jogged out of the house, making her way into the crowds along the streets. There were sparklers that were being handed out to kids and parents, food at tables all along the sides of the road and bright lights illuminating the darkening sky.

She had barely made it into the crowd before a group of girls from the school scooped her up. "They're going to be doing dancing up the street, come on!"

Chris laughed along as she was pulled by each arm, her right wrist brace free, toward the area that they had a stereo set up to play different songs. The girls didn't hesitate to pull her into the fold, an entire group of them dancing together. There were some boys but most decided to hang back at the sidelines. They felt that it wasn't their place.

Chris felt free and light as she clapped her hands to the beat of the song, the itch of her brace for once not there. She felt that she didn't have a care in the world as she spun around in different dances with the friends she rarely ever saw. Karen and Samantha had become close friends with her when she first got to school, both of them also on the track team and immediately getting along with the sporty newcomer.

Karen hooked arms with Chris and began to spin them in circles, laughing whole heartedly as she did so. She could see Samantha was doing the same with one of the few guys that were dancing around the circle and briefly wondered where Benny was. When the song changed Samantha and the guy stepped into the center to lead the dance, Chris moving away at the unfamiliar steps.

"Come on!" Karen encouraged, but she shook her head.

"No, I don't know about this one-"

"Sorry," a familiar male voice said, an arm suddenly looping through Chris's. Benny grinned down at her before he flashes a smile to Karen that almost made the older girl swoon. He was known throughout the school as the guy that couldn't be touched; he just didn't seem interested in _anything_ but baseball. "I'm going to have to steal Chris."

Before either of them could say a thing he was leading her off, his hand slipping down to thread his fingers through hers and pull her away. She was shocked at the boldness but followed after him, seeing the other guys up the road as they waved to them. They were heading to the lot, but she wasn't sure why. It was going to be completely dark out very soon. They couldn't play a game like this.

She marvelled at the sparklers and fireworks that they passed, lit up in the middle of the street. Benny pulled her through a set of them, the warmth touching her skin but not burning either of them. She smiled at the beautiful light that they gave off, something that was only seen on the Fourth of July.

Chris was just glad she had decided to wear her converse instead of sandals.

"Benny, what are you guys up to?" she asked once they reached the lot, moving to stand in their place.

"Night game," he explained, pointing upward. "The fireworks. They light everything up at night for us to have a game. It's amazing and we can only do it once a year. Just watch, you'll see." Chris opened her mouth to speak again but he was already jogging off toward home plate, his bat in hand. She moved to stand in her regular place, glancing over to where Scott was standing at left center.

He looked just as excited as all of the other guys.

DeNunez caught the ball that Ham passed to him, the guys all calling for the pitch. He wound up just like he always did before he threw a fast one to where Benny was waiting, ready. He hit the ball with a loud crack and a cloud of dust, the white orb flying through the air at breakneck speed; a shooting star. Chris's eyes moved to follow it, catching at the fireworks. She lost track of the ball in the bright, blinding lights. Reds, greens, yellows and whites all danced along the skies.

It looked like someone had dropped stones in the atmosphere and it was leaving ripples to break out on the surface, dancing about with the stars. It was a beautiful cosmic array of lights. The odd burst of blues and purples drew her forward, standing away from the sidelines that usually stood as her protection to watch the eruption of neon lights.

There was no other sight more beautiful.

The smile that had seemed ever present on her face since Benny had kissed her on the cheek rose up to her lips again, the curls of her hair falling back over her shoulders when she tilted her head to get a better view of the show above them. She felt so small and yet so warm as she watched the fireworks display.

Benjamin Rodriguez was still running, the fireworks lighting his way as he took the ever familiar route around the bases that he had run down into the ground himself. There was the familiar press of the base beneath his foot at every point in the diamond, the rush of air through his clothes as he sped forward. The guys had all stopped playing, lowering their mitts and raising their eyes to the sky. He knew what would be there; the bursts of light that were there every year.

There was no sight like the Fourth of July celebrations, but there was no game like baseball. Nothing could compare to the feeling of running along the baseline, tossing the bat aside after the vibrations of hitting the ball shake your hands. He could rather have his lungs burn from a homerun then to have his eyes blinded by the most beautiful of fireworks.

Every year he would finish his homerun, but there was something different this year.

Chris had stepped away from the sidelines to better see the show in the sky and was standing directly in the running line from third to home. She was smiling so peacefully, watching the fireworks with the rest of the guys on the team. The lights from the explosions in the air flashed along her dress, turning it different shades of red, green, blue and purple. He could imagine her bright blue eyes lighting up every time a blue firework erupted.

Not completely understanding why or when, Benny's feet suddenly began to slow along his run until he was walking toward her. She didn't tear her eyes away from the sky, too focused on the sight of it to notice him until he was right beside her. For the first time since beyond he could remember, he stopped his run and looked up at the sky. He slipped his hand into Chris's and watched the fireworks at her side, feeling as she laced her fingers through his and clutched his hand tightly.

They didn't look to one another, but stood side by side, knowing the other was there.

It was expected for things to be different between her and Benny after the kiss and then when they had held hands and watched the fireworks on the Fourth of July, but it wasn't to the point that it was strange. If anything, Chris was more at ease around the guys than she had ever been before. She walked next to Benny every time she went to the Sandlot with them and when she was with other friends she would always think of him at the Sandlot, playing the game he loved in the heat of the summer.

She was sitting at the table in Ms. Carson's dining room, watching as the twins ran circles around the kitchen after they had eaten their lunch. She had promised the guys that she would be by the Sandlot after she got off babysitting detail and she was getting anxious to hear Ms. Carson's keys in the lock.

"Look! Look! Ciss, Ciss!" Daniel, the 'older' of the twins cried as he pointed over to the window where a small bird hand landed for a moment in the shade. The two twins rushed over to the window to see if they could get a better look but the quick movements startled the animal into flight.

"Slow down now, you scared her," Chris said softly. The boys looked sad for a moment at missing the bird before the familiar sound of Mr. Carson's keys unlocking the door drew their attention away and immediately brought smiles back.

"Mummy!"

Chris almost felt like crying out in happiness as well. She didn't stay much longer aside from passing pleasantries along to Ms. Carson and saying goodbye to the twins before she was jogging down the street toward the Sandlot. She missed her boys, it had been a couple of days since she'd seen them and she had to skip out again the next day because of her doctor's appointment.

Keeping up a steady jog and she was at the lot in no time, making her way around the long fence to where the unofficial entrance was. She had barely made it a few feet around when she froze in place, the sight of a group of boy on their bikes across from the Sandlots gang. Face off.

She knew that the Sandlot boys could see her there and she watched as Scott discretely motioned to the side, telling her to go back the way she had come. She stepped back until she was out of view and quickly jogged back the way that she had come but stopped along the fence. Pressing her side against the fence, it wasn't hard to hear the yelling between the rival groups.

"…_You ain't good enough to lick the dirt off our cleats," _an unfamiliar voice sneered. The leader of that baseball gang, no doubt. She had heard of them, but never met any of them before. Phillips had a rep for how rude and snobbish he was. The sound of his voice only proved that.

"Watch it, jerk," Ham snapped back.

"_Shut up, idiot!"_

"Moron!"

"_Scab eater."_

"Butt sniffer," Ham snapped, clearly losing his patience with the other boy. She repressed the urge to roll her eyes at the boys' insults. It was such a masculine thing to do. It was disgusting to say the least, more of a way to disturb the other team and not insult them. She had never heard a team fight verbally with another in such a way. Although, her team was usually more for physical fights than this. The boys cheered Ham on.

"You play ball like a girl!" Ham finally yelled, drawing pause to Chris as her smile dropped. After all this time, that was still the biggest insult to a male baseball player's ego. She pulled away from the fence and shook her head, unbelieving. Looks like things hadn't changed a bit. She was just 'Smalls' older sister after all.

She jogged back toward the house, not even caring if the guys had seen her and would wonder where she went. She was glad that her mom was out back when she got home, rushing up to her room without having to deal with her. Her mother had a strange sense about her that always made it impossible to hide hurt feelings. She slipped out onto the roof outside her room, tearing off her brace and throwing it inside. She was not going to play ball again.

It was easy to tell when Scott got home, yelling out to their mom to tell her about his day. That had become routine for him; he liked to brag about everything that he did. He didn't tell her about the mini verbal fight that had happened but he told her that they were going to play a game against another team the next day.

"Do you know where Chris is? I haven't seen her," he called as he made his way toward her room. She remained laid out on the roof so he wouldn't see her. He opened her door and peaked his head inside, but didn't notice where she was and soon closed it behind him again.

"She probably went to hang out with some other friends; she needs to be around girls, too, Scotty."

When asked to come down for dinner she used the excuse of not feeling well. She sat herself on the floor beside her bed and spread the photo albums that were tucked away in her closet all around her. The smiling faces of all her friends from back home met her eyes, the guys from her team all circling her own face as they caught one last photograph before she had to move away. They had nearly tackled her to the ground.

Leaning back against her bed, she smiled as she pulled a photo from its place to look at it more closely. It was of her entire baseball team all sitting on the top of the fifteen foot fence that sat behind the back catcher. They all had grins on their faces and their feet hooked into the fence so they didn't fall. Chris was in the middle of them, her arms thrown out behind her. At the time she was trying to catch her balance but in the photo it came out with her looking like she was about to take off in flight.

Ironically, her team was known as the Angels.

**No kiss this time, but I updated much sooner so I don't have to make it up to all of you wonderful readers as much. I always love the scene in the movie when they're playing their night game. They chose the perfect song, too.**


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